Keir Starmer says there are more than 400,000 people in the top priority groups identified by the prime minister, meaning they won't all be vaccinated next week.

He asks when people in the top two priority groups will get the jab.

In reply, Boris Johnson says the UK will roll out the vaccine "as fast as we possibly can" when millions of doses are delivered.

But he says it is important people "don't get their hopes up too soon" about the speed it can be rolled out.

Starmer also raises concerns that delivery of vaccines into care homes will be difficult due to temperatures of -70C at which the vaccine must be stored.

Johnson acknowledges there are "logistical challenges" but says his government is working to distribute the vaccine as fast as possible to vulnerable groups.

He adds that it is also important to get the Oxford University vaccine ready as it can be more easily stored.

Our technology reporter Zoe Kleinman looks here at the questions surrounding the cold storage of the vaccine.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has risen to over one million, as the country grapples with a second wave of infections.

On Wednesday, Poland's health ministry reported 13,855 new cases and 609 deaths, bringing the national tally to 1.01 million infections and 18,208 fatalities.

The number of daily cases has fallen since a surge in October and November, but Poland has one of the highest proportions of positive tests in the European Union, and one of the lowest testing rates.

This week, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is expected to present details of the government's vaccination programme.

Poland, together with Hungary, has vowed to maintain its veto of the European Union's budget and pandemic relief fund. Both countries said they were opposed to a clause that ties funding to adherence to the rule of law.

Image source, Getty Images

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer describes the vaccine announcement as “fantastic news”, saying “we are now a big step closer to the end of the tunnel".

He asks the prime minister who does he expect to receive the vaccine next week?

Boris Johnson replies that the first recipients will be resident in care homes, all those 80 years of age and older and frontline health care and social care workers.

Despite the good news, he says that it is still important for the public to follow Covid restrictions at its "not the end of the national struggle" against the virus.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson begins PMQs by welcoming the "fantastic news" that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been approved for widespread use in the UK.

He says it will be made available across the UK from next week.

“It is the protection of vaccines that will ultimately allow us to reclaim our lives and get our economy moving again," he adds.

Here's a little more from the briefing in Germany by BioNTech, which is the company behind the vaccine.

Sean Marett, who is in charge of distribution of the vaccine for BioNTech, says the doses for the UK are currently being packed in Belgium ready for shipping “very, very quickly”.

These go into “thermo boxes” which are temperature controlled and hold between 1,000 and 5,000 doses, he explains, which will either be shipped by lorry or plane to the UK.

Explaining how the vaccine, which needs to be kept at very cold temperatures, can be distributed to care homes, he says studies have shown that the vaccine can be transported in bags at temperatures of 2-8C for up to six hours.

He says they are “absolutely delighted” about getting approval from the UK today but they are “not stopping there” with US and EU announcements due in the next few weeks.

Prime Minister's Questions is about to start in the Commons at 12:00 GMT with Boris Johnson facing questions from MPs.

BioNTech, the company behind the vaccine, is giving a media conference in Germany.

Its chief medical officer Dr Özlem Türeci Biontech said the company has started immediately the process of delivering its vaccine and it expected the roll out in the UK to happen "within the next couple of days".

She added that on Monday, the company formally filed an application with the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Image source, PA Media

We have been hearing this morning that the first 800,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine will be available in the UK from next week.

Around 50 hospitals are on stand-by and vaccination centres - in venues such as conference centres or sports stadiums - are being set up now.

Nadhim Zahawi, the newly-appointed minister responsible for overseeing the vaccination rollout in England, said: "Once quality checks have taken place, the vaccine will be delivered right across the UK."

Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who described today's announcement as "the best news in a long time", said the Scottish government was ready to start vaccinations "as soon as supplies arrive".

It is thought that big venues such as the Edinburgh International Conference Centre are being lined up as the type of venue that will be transformed into vaccine distribution "hubs".

The Welsh government has said the rollout of vaccinations would start in Wales "within a matter of days".

It said two specialist sites had been identified as appropriate delivery sites for the vaccine and local health boards would collect the vaccines directly from these sites

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland Health Minister Robin Swann has said the first vaccinations could begin as soon as next week.

The first vaccinations had been scheduled from 14 December but Mr Swann said this could now "come forward by a few days".

So what happens once a coronavirus vaccine is approved? And how can all of the world's population get a jab?

Kalipso Chalkidou, director of global health policy at the Center for Global Development, and Nicole Hassoun, an ethicist at Binghamton University in New York, discuss five major challenges.

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

While care home residents are top of the prioritisation list, the logistics of starting the vaccination programme is likely to mean the first doses will be given via the 50 hospital hubs.

That means health and care staff and patients will get immunised first not care home residents.

The hope is that as more of the Pfizer vaccine becomes available – ministers expect to have several million by the end of the year – roll out to care home residents can begin.

That is complicated by the fact the vaccine needs to be stored at -70C up until a few days before it is given.

But when more doses are available the plan is to ensure care home residents are prioritised.

A little earlier we heard from three prominent people involved in the approval of the Pfizer vaccine at a Downing Street briefing.

They were Dr June Raine, chief executive of British regulator the MHRA, Prof Sir Munir Pirmohamed, chair of the Commission on Human Medicine Expert Working Group and Prof Wei Shen Lim, chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which advises UK health departments.

These are some of the main points from that briefing:

• The recommendation to approve the vaccine was made following the "most rigorous scientific assessment of every piece of data"
• The MHRA regulatory body started preparing for the process in June and so were "ready for that last sprint" and stressed "no corners have been cut"
• Most of the side effects of the vaccine are very mild and last only a day or so
• People will be immune seven days after the second dose, and will have some protection on day 12 after the first dose
• The most vulnerable individuals have been prioritised, with care home residents at the top of the list. Read the order of priority here
• There is no suggestion that the vaccine should be compulsory, including for NHS workers
• The UK needs as many vaccines as it can get. “This is the start of a programme and not the end of a programme."

The government hopes to start distributing the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine imminently.

However, the vaccine needs to be kept at a temperature of about -70C.

Most other vaccines do not need this, so how will this be made to work?

The vaccine will be distributed from Pfizer's own centres in the US, Germany and Belgium.

It will need to travel both on land and by air and possibly be stored in distribution centres, before being delivered to anywhere the vaccine will be given.

For this, Pfizer has developed a special transport box the size of a suitcase, packed with dry ice and installed with GPS trackers.

The vaccine can survive for a further five days once thawed, Pfizer has said, but this does not buy a great deal of extra time.

In the longer-term, Public Health England says that in the UK "national preparations" are under way regarding both central storage and distribution of the vaccine across the country, but has not given details.

Read more.

Image source, Getty Images

A bill to provide free coronavirus jabs for residents of Japan has been passed by the country's parliament, as it grapples with a wave of infections.

Under the new law, local governments will be responsible for administering the vaccines, and citizens will be obliged - in principle - to get themselves immunised.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has vowed to secure enough vaccines for the country's population by the first half of 2021, but it is unclear if all foreign residents will be eligible.

Meanwhile, Italy has said it will launch its own free vaccine programme early next year. Health Minister Roberto Speranza told parliament that the government had options to buy 202 million jabs from various countries.

Dr June Raine, from the MHRA, finishes the briefing by saying the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine "meets rigorous high standards of safety, of effectiveness and of quality".

"The public’s safety has always been at the forefront of our minds," she stresses.

Prof Wei Shen Lim, chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, is asked whether the UK has ordered sufficient quantities of the vaccine to cover all those in vulnerable groups - or whether the country will be dependant on further vaccines.

He says the whole point of prioritisation is that “we expect during a pandemic that vaccine supply will be limited in the first instance", so the vaccines should be offered to the most vulnerable first.

“We will need as many vaccines as we can get" to reach those at risk from Covid-19, he says, adding that this will include more than one vaccine type.

“This is the start of a programme and not the end of a programme," he says.

Asked about the challenges of delivering the vaccine to all groups, Prof Wei Shen Lim says every vaccine comes with its own characteristics in terms of storage, transport and deliverability - the Pfizer vaccine has a strong requirement for very cold storage.

He reminds viewers that this mass vaccination programme is "an unprecedented thing", and will be "the largest such programme in the UK for decades so there will be all manner of operational flexibilities that will be required".

Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed provides some more details on how it will be handled.

He says it must be stored at -70C, but can be stable between 2-8 degrees centigrade once taken out, to allow for deployment in vaccination sites.

Dr June Raine says the “public can be confident” that the MHRA will be watching very closely to make sure that during the vaccine rollout there is good laboratory and clinical practice, and good manufacturing practice.

Prof Wei Shen Lim says the JCVI has advised that certain health workers should be offered priority for the vaccine and this is based around their own personal risk, the amount of exposure to infected people and the amount of interaction they have with vulnerable people.

Asked whether NHS staff will be penalised if they don’t have the vaccine, Prof Wei Shen Lim says “there is no suggestion” that the vaccine should be compulsory, but he adds that the JCVI is not a “policy making body”.

Dr June Raine, chief executive of British regulator the MHRA, is asked whether the UK no longer being part of the EU made any difference to the speed the regulator was able to complete the authorisation.

She says the regulator has been able to authorise the supply of the vaccine using provisions under European law which exist until 1 January.

“Our speed or our progress has been totally dependent on the availability of data in our rolling review and the rigorous assessment and independent advice we have received," she adds.

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

Image source, Reuters

This is the news we have all been waiting for.

The NHS has already been gearing up for some time with more than 1,000 GP surgeries to act as local vaccination centres and sports stadiums and conference centres to act as major immunisation hubs.

Provision has been made for extra staff, including dentists, physios and even lifeguards and airline staff, to be brought in to help with the effort.

But the biggest hurdle will be supply.

The UK has been promised 40 million doses by the spring.

That alone will be enough to vaccinate all the over 65s and health and care workers given that two doses are needed.

But, in the short term, our ability to vaccinate could easily outstrip supply.

Ministers say they will have 800,000 doses in the country within days.

That will be followed by a few million by the end of the year – the original expectation that there could be 10 million doses is already looking ambitious.

But, given the network of vaccination centres could easily do one million vaccinations a week when it is fully up-to-speed, getting the jabs into the country remains the biggest challenge.

It is being made in Belgium. Could Brexit be an issue? The government is confident it has secure routes to ensure supply does not get disrupted.

Nonetheless, major hopes are still being pinned to authorisation being given to the Oxford University vaccine so that roll-out can happen as quickly as possible in 2021.

Dr June Raine says the Department of Health is working “tirelessly” to ensure the first vaccine will be delivered as soon as the checks are completed.

“Everything is being looked at 24-7” to allow this “important” public health step to be put in place with “not a minute wasted”.

Asked whether the highest risk tiers be given priority for the vaccine, Prof Wei Shen Lim says the priority is that the “most vulnerable people are offered the vaccine first”.

Pressed as to whether that will be vulnerable people in tier three, he says the “prioritisation order is not dependent on which tier someone is in, it is a national prioritisation order”.